An English professor once told me the best thing to write in response to a reference check involving a potentially poor employee is, "You would be lucky to get this person to work for you." Depending on where you place the inflection, it can mean very different things.
At a minimum, you want to make sure 1) using the person as a reference is OK and 2) all the contact info is correct.
Re: Talk to your references
Dex
5/1/2012 1:56:36 PM
If the person who wants to use you as a reference is too lazy, embarrassed or nonchalant to make a simple call or send an email, then too bad for him if no one remembers who he is.
I'm amazed how many people give a reference without warning the person. I have received several calls about people who are both friends and business associates. Unless I know whether I'm a business or personal reference, I don't know what direction to steer the conversation.
One of our reference checks was an eye-opener.
We were hiring for two positons. Did team interviews with the final six candidates and picked the top three for the last part of the process. One of the references was really difficult to reach. Didn't seem to have any time. (That should have been a clue.)
When we finally got him on the phone it was basically "that name doesn't ring a bell". Huh? I can understand getting this answer if I'm calling people in the industry for an independent view, but this is from a reference name that the candidate gave us.
What was the candidate thinking? He didn't think we would call his references.
PC
I know! You think people could think of someone who could give a better reference than something like that!
Re: Flexibility,Flexibility,Flexibility.
back2basicz
4/30/2012 3:43:33 PM
Noreen,
There is no other option today.
You have to be flexible or be prepared to bite the dust.
The world has changed so much in the last decade or so its unbelievable today.
Ashish.
- "I cannot think of any strengths, only weaknesses"
- "I'm sure there must be some strengths but nothing jumps out at me."
- "Weaknesses seem to stick in my mind ... I'd have to really think about any strengths"
- "I'd rather not comment - you can take that however you want"
Whoops!
Maybe we should add, "Make nice with your references." Here are some actual examples of questions and responses in references checked by Allison & Taylor:
We would like to verify that (the candidate) held the position (title) from (dates), is this correct?
- "He was an account executive, not a Senior V.P."
- "His name doesn't ring a bell."
- "We do not have this person anywhere in our records."
- "I am not allowed to say anything about this person as they were fired"
Some references will refuse to rank a past employee due to an unfavorable impression:
- "No comment, they could not do anything correctly in the position they held with us"
- "Let's save time. Basically, you could rank them inadequate in all areas"
When questioned about strengths and weaknesses:
- "I cannot think of any strengths, only weaknesses"
- "I'm sure there must be some strengths but nothing jumps out at me."
- "Weaknesses seem to stick in my mind ... I'd have to really think about any strengths"
- "I'd rather not comment - you can take that however you want"
Ashish, love the advice about being flexible. Too many people get stuck in ruts and are unwilling to explore new opportunities.
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